PSG has endured quite the torpid spell in its last matches of the season. From bowing out of the Champions League to Manchester United, to losing the Coupe De France to Rennes on penalties, there hasn’t been much joy for Les Parisiens, spare eventually securing the Ligue 1 title.
The misery was compounded Tuesday as PSG traveled to Montpellier.
Forget all the complaints about which team had more rest or which team has more money — the first leg of the Champions League semifinals between Ajax and Tottenham was everything you want in a big match.
Full of attacking intent from both sides, neither of which backed away from a single challenge, Ajax turned 30 minutes of first-half dominance into a 1-0 victory, a third-straight away win in the knockout rounds for the Amsterdam side. Spurs, meanwhile, suffered back-to-back defeats at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
Battered, bruised and bloodied, Jan Vertonghen was splayed out on the turf.
The Spurs defender smashed his own head into the back of teammate Toby Alderweireld’s head going for a free kick, causing a faucet of blood to spew forth.
It was gruesome, and it summed up Tottenham’s opening half against Ajax.
DeAndre Yedlin made a big move after the 2014 World Cup, leaving his hometown club Seattle Sounders for Tottenham Hotspur in August of that year. Five years later, his youth club Crossfire Premier has been denied solidarity payments on the transfer (which cost the English Premier League club about $3.71 million), ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle reported.
Tottenham Hotspur is one of England’s most storied clubs. Founded in 1882, Spurs have a great history of cup success dating back to winning the 1901 FA Cup as a non-League club, continuing through 1963 when they became the first British club to win a major European competition and into the 21st century. But it begs the question: Why is Tottenham called Spurs?
Tottenham Hotspur was founded by a group of school boys along Tottenham High Road in London and is now one of the most profitable and successful clubs in Europe.
After what looked like a promising rebound year for Manchester United plummeted, the club will look into Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak in the offseason, according to rumors.
Oblak’s recent contract extension has the goalkeeper inked with the Spanish club until 2023 with a €120 million buyout.
The stumble for fourth place in the Premier League continued apace today with Arsenal getting thrashed 3-0 by Leicester City before Manchester United and Chelsea settled for a share of the spoils at Old Trafford following a 1-1 draw.
Coming into the match on the back of three straight defeats, United started strongly with both Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford looking extremely sharp in attack. The Red Devils’ deserved opener arrived in the 11th minute with the aforementioned Lukaku playing a big role.
Manchester City returned to the top of the Premier League table with a 1-0 victory over Burnley at Turf Moor on Sunday, and it was Sergio Agüero’s goal-line technology-assisted strike — his 20th of the season — that proved the match-winner in the 63rd minute.
Many predicted the most difficult match of City’s title run-in here, and the scoreline demonstrates how precarious it was, but the level of control exerted by Pep Guardiola’s side will give very little hope to Liverpool that either Leicester City or Brighton can stop City from successfully defending its title.
With the two automatic promotion places from the EFL Championship to the Premier League going to Norwich City and Sheffield United, today’s meeting between third place Leeds United and fifth place Aston Villa on the penultimate day of the season simply served as a preview of things to come in the Championship playoffs (both sides have already guaranteed their spots).
Neymar has officially recovered from his now annual foot injury. The Brazilian started for the first time since January 23 and appears to be in full form already, supplying a first-half assist and goal for PSG against Stade Rennes in the Coupe de France final on Saturday in Paris.